it's 5:00 a.m. here at cnbc global headquarters. welcome to "worldwide exchange." here's your "five@5." markets looking to end 2024 on a high note with stocks on pace to finish their best two years in a quarter of a century. futures are higher this morning. nat gas losing steam after surging 20% to start the week. the factors fueling that dramatic rise. hack attack. the treasury department the victim of the overseas actors breaching security. we have the latest in a moment. the german chancellor ot

mincing words on politics. with the incoming trump administration means for the m&a landscape. it's tuesday, december 31st, new year's eve, 2024. you are watching "worldwide exchange" here on cnbc. good morning. happy new year's eve. i'm frank holland. let's kick off the final trading day of 2024 with the nasdaq and s&p coming off three-day losing streaks. we could see a rebound on wall street. the s&p is up .13%. 18 points. dow up .25%. 125 points. nasdaq up under .50%. we quickly will get a check on the gainers in the s&p 500. the top of the list is allegion

followed by costar and blackstone and franklin resources and host hotels. going back to the markets. the weakness is contrary to the strong year we had. all of the major indices and russell finishing with the fifth positive year in the last six. dow up 13%. the s&p up 23 or 24%. the nasdaq, the best performer, rising 24% in 2024. the russell is 10% higher on the year, but nearly 10% off its 52-week high. getting close to correction territory. a lot to talk about when we talk about the narratives in the market and dominance of tech this year. we saw it in the sector performance. 10 of 11 sectors finishing higher in the year with the communication finishing up nearly 40%. materials, the laggard finishing in the red. we are not showing it here. these are all the winners. materials are falling 2% for the year into the last trading day of the year.

healthcare and energy and materials lower for the year. real estate, all of them more than 10% off the recent high in correction territory. let's go back to another part of the story for the markets this year. rates, of course. rates are a big part of the narrative this year. ten-year finishing 70 basis points higher despite the fed cutting 100 basis points. you see the rocky path for rates this year. some ups and downs finishing the year higher. 70 basis points higher than we started. last, but not least, we are talking about gold and digital gold, bitcoin. bitcoin gaining 30% since the election. you see the upside move. gold finishing up 27%. bitcoin up over 120%. that is the set up. let's see how europe and asia are closing the final trading day of the year with the brilliant steve sedgwick in london with the action overseas. steve, good to see you.

good to be reunited. i miss you from back in london. i miss you, too, frank. you say the nicest things. we will get to our best wishes for the new year in a moment. a lot of pressure you can see on the shanghai composite in chinese. shenzhen down 1.2%. questions if china can hit 5% in 2024. xi jinping thinks they will have hit 5%. what does it mean for 2025 and the trans pacific questions you and i have been asking about the relationship with the u.s. and mr. trump and xi jinping and china? they are still hanging over the markets. year to date moves on the asian indices. i'll show you those before i move on to the european bourses. you can see the nikkei despite all of the concerns we have about interest rate policy and what's going on politically. up 19% in the year. that is without doubt the standout performer on asian

indices. let's flip back to the european markets. the last couple hours of trading. the london market .20%. a slog this year. the cac 40 up .4%. i will show you the european markets year to date. cac 40 down a couple this year. the german market despite all of the concerns that you and i talked about, frank, volkswagen, up 19% in 2024. that is a final print for the dax. frank, it's been lovely chatting with you this year as well. i'm looking forward to more in 2025. have a great new year. >> i have a resolution to go on a run with you. people don't know you are a great marathon runner. i want to pace with you one day. >> frank, the answer is new york the tail end of the year. >> let's do it. that's our promise. steve, we will leave it there.

i know you are leaving the office after this. have a great evening whatever you decide to do. time to get back to the markets. let's talk more about the markets as we close out 2024. we welcome in 2025 in just a few short hours. janet mui at brewin dolphin. >> thank you for having me on the final trading day of the year. >> futures are a bit higher. we have seen recent market weakness. the santa claus rally appears to be faltering right now as we are a couple of days into it. how do you see the markets going into 2025? do you think the recent weakness is a sign of problems or issues in 2025 or is it seasonality? >> i don't think there is an issue of the weakness with how the global markets performed. i think it is a hiccup and we're still positive on risk assets

going into 2025. i think it could be more of the same in terms of u.s. exceptionalism. we are positive on the u.s. equities versus other regions. if you look at the confidence survey, the u.s. business survey is off the charts and those in europe are suffering. in terms of the macro, the u.s. is going to perform better and in terms of the bond market, we are a bit commute neutral. we think a lot of the discussion on budget deficit and tax and spending will come to the floor which will put ongoing pressure on bond yields. we favor equity versus bonds and in terms of gold. >> i want to get back to the markets and equities in particular. since the election, we talked to the data team, this is a great stat we will hear a lot of people talking about later today. since the election, the s&p is

positive, but the mag seven is 95% of those gains. are you worried about market concentration? is that an issue going into next year? >> i'm not too worried about that. we still prefer quality growth company which can be found in the mag seven companies. i think fundamentally, a lot depends on the growth outlook and we are constructive of the mag cap tech earnings. there are a lot of capital commitments from the hyper scalers. we feel there is more profit realization from the cloud computing companies from a.i. 2025 onwards. i think the a.i. theme will grow from the semiconductors to the -- the hyper scalers and cloud computing and, of course, the end producers and things like that.

relatively speaking, those mega cap tech stocks are the best place to be if you want exposure to innovation and a.i. >> i know you also like healthcare, but not on the sector basis, but individual names and individual parts of the trade. what are the areas in health care that you do like here? we have been talking with it on cnbc. healthcare is a laggard. up 2% as a sector. >> there is certainly opportunity. healthcare stocks, in general, is exposed to a theme of aging population and longevity and when we talk about more and more government deficit that struggles to spend on healthcare, i think the issue will continue to come to the floor. it is an issue that is hugely important and has to be resolved. i think in terms of some of the european healthcare stocks, including some in the uk, there are high quality ones that are exposed to aging population in areas that would take hold with problems with the eyes and bones

and over-the-counter medication and things like that. i am not going to provide the individual stock names here, but they are definitely stock picking opportunities there. >> you gave us some direction a insight there. janet mui, thank you very much much. time to check on the top corporate stories of the morning with bertha coombs. good morning. >> good morning, frank. the treasury department says computers were hacked by the chinese quote threat actor in what the department is calling a major incident. in a letter to congressional leaders seen by nbc news, the treasury department said they used third party software to tap into desktop computers early they are month. in the statement to nbc, the treasury spokesperson says there is no systems access.

the fdic has given blackrock a january 10th deadline to accept agreement over compliance over the big stake in banks. according to the reports, the agency is pushing the asset manager on the deal that would allow it to step up scrutiny of blackrock's investment in fdic ted banks. the apparent push on blackrock comes after the similar deal last week. germany's chancellor not holding back on the world's richest man. olof scholz cautioning voters they are not to let social media owners influence the up coming election. likely alluding to elon musk. musk has thrown his support

hundred behind the far-right party and called for scholz to resign. frank, musk very busy these days. >> a lot of companies to run and dipping his toe in politics. bertha, thank you very much. a whip saw week for natural gas. we look at the top performing commodities this year. it is not energy or metals. what 2025 will bring for likes the coke and orange juice. the oracle of omaha is putting his money to work. it moves their planning for 2025. a very busy hour when "worldwide exchange" returns. stay with us. it's all the things that keep this world turning.

it's the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. trust. hang out. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. powering more businesses than anyone. powering possibilities.

z's bakery is looking to add a pizza oven, arissa's hair salon wants to expand their space, and steve's t-shirt shop wants to bring on more help. with the comcast business 5-year price lock guarantee,

they can think more about possibilities for their business and not the cost of their internet. it's five years of gig-speeds and advanced security. all from the company with 99.9% network reliability. get the 5-year price lock guarantee, now back for a limited time. powering five years of savings. powering possibilities™. ♪ welcome back to "worldwide exchange." natural gas pulling back after the contract hit a 52-week high yesterday surging 20% on forecast for colder than usual weather in the south and east.

the largest natural gas player in the u.s. gained 5%. other names like antero and cheniere moving higher. there are worries of prices in europe as well. supplies of russian exports through ukraine is ending top. joining me now is bob yager at mizuho. great to have you here, bob. >> thank you for having me. >> we saw a spike yesterday about the colder in the east and midwest here in january. that is winter in the u.s. how sustainable are these going forward? is that just a pop on the heed headline or is that moving higher? >> we have bullish lines here. there are weather. there is storage being depleted in the united states for the

first time in two years. you have the eurozone situation and we also have lng exports. one thing you have to realize this is natural gas. this is the land of the brave. this is the most volatile commodity out there. it will whipsaw in every direction on its way higher. it is setting up to be a wild ride here. $4 on friday for the first time and extended that gain yesterday. we are printing at multi-year highs here with the pretty bullish fundamental support ing this market. >> the land of the brave. the most volatility commodity. i want to ask about the x-factor. the incoming administration. does that mean we will have more supplies of natural gas or we will meet foreign demand or push prices back lower? >> if we are to increase

production, that would definitely, production of crude oil will increase production of natural gas. that is a byproduct of crude oil production. you can't drill for crude oil and not get natural gas in the process. many flare that gas off. they don't use it. we are good at capturing it. we send a lot of the natural gas to the gulf coast to be super freezed into lng and we export it. we have a brand new lng facility that sent its first cargo overseas last week. global venture plaquing mines send their cargo out last week. that will ramp up to 2.0 bcf here in coming months. also, cheniere has april train

coming online. if the trump administration does drill, baby, drill, and bates the baits the producer in drill, baby, drill, we will send more overseas. >> bob, great to see you. happy new year. coming up on "worldwide exchange," we are digging through the winners and losers and will 2025 offer fresh hope for sectors left in thdue st in 2024? stay with us. that winter is nor during the jeep wrap up the year sales event. shred snow in the most capable wrangler ever. spread thrills with our most affordable suv. or winter your way in the most awarded suv ever. hurry in now for an additional $500 holiday bonus cash at the jeep wrap up the year sales event. right now, during the jeep wrap up the year sales event, get $7,500 total bonus cash allowance on 2024 jeep grand cherokee overland and summit models. see your local jeep brand dealer today.

at betmgm, everyone gets a welcome offer. so whether you're courtside trying to hit the over... or up here trying to hit the under. whew! or, hitting that win with your crew. ohhh! yes, see defense! or way up here with a same game parlay. yaw!

betmgm's got your back. get your welcome offer. and play with the sportsbook born in vegas. all these seats. really? get up to a $1500 new customer offer in bonus bets when you sign up now. betmgm. download and bet today.

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." warren buffett is not waiting for the new year to put the berkshire hathaway money to work. he bought shares of verisign. berkshire started to buy the company in the first quarter. the move comes as berkshire sits on $325 billion cash pile and it is a key holding for members of the next group. a close are r look at how the ms are positioning for 2025. barbara, happy new year. >> happy new year. >> this is the club i want to be in. are you guys excited about the new year? we're talking about berkshire hathaway and cash pile and what it may signal. when we talking about the ultra

wealthy, are they excited with the opportunities in the market in 2025? >> they are excited because they are so diligent in terms of looking at those opportunities. we also share our information with each other. so, we have a market opportunities and risk meeting every month. we have members in all different areas and they share their expertise with us. we have a few members advising on bitcoin. we are getting direct dback on bitcoin. we know trump is looking at the price of bitcoin as a measure of how younger people feel about the market today. he is looking at the stock market and he is looking at the price of bitcoin. we have so many people in the administration favorable to bitcoin, including the new s.e.c. chairman as well as the commerce secretary and vice president with 50% of his

holdings are in bitcoin. there are people across the board in this new administration. this is going to be the most positive administration ever and we expect the regulatory environment to be positive as well. >> that's really interesting. we often talk about the president-elect as the president with the most focus on wall street and the business community. why don't we lean into it? how do your investors see bitcoin up 30% since the election. as we go into 2025, are they seeing more opportunities in the cryptocurrency space? >> they see huge opportunity in the cryptocurrency space. we anticipate bitcoin is going to be used and deposited in the bank. imagine watching it increase while it is also gaining interest. we think there is an opportunity for making bitcoin deposits. again, we think we will

collateralize bitcoin. within the regulatory administration that is friendly to this. >> let's talk about this stat earlier in the show. the data team ran the numbers. the mag seven are making up 95% of the s&p 500 gains. are you worried about the concentration and the narrow band of stocks pushing the market higher? >> you have to find the opportunities all over the place. in fact, we found one company that has delivered the most dividend of any company, consist tnt consistently 20% year over year and that is a natural gas company in canada. we are diligent about looking at every market and looking at every company. we hold cash until we find something that is a good investment and we are leveraging

the background of our members. our members come from every field. they are the superstars in every area. they are telling news that the market opportunity and they share their information with us and we follow their direction. >> barbara, let me ask you this. berkshire hathaway, $325 billion cash holding right now. your members, according to my notes, you find this as a concerning sign. you hold cash as well. why is it concerning for berkshire to have that high cash pile? >> it is not concerning, but we're watching what he is doing carefully. he could also be pulling back in anticipation of the market pullback. we know there is a lot of debt right now. that's a problem. we are just being very cautious. we take him as a bellwether. we are also conscious of what warren buffett is doing. there are lots of opportunities in the market and they might not be the traditional opportunities. we still think if you are

diligent, you can find spaces that will grow. when warren buffett pulls back, we are very conscious of that. >> barbara, always great to see you. hope to see you in studio next time. happy new year. >> thank you. micro strategy shares close after disclosing 923,000 shares. the company bought around 2 $20 million more in bitcoin. the week to date down more than 5%. we have more "worldwide exchange" coming up. stay with us. so an ai agent didn't know to move my reservations inside... ...or know what i like to eat, which is not that. what's up, my brother? oh, hey, bud! we really needed this rain. right? [car splashing rain water]

agentforce helps restaurants prevent dining disasters. paddle on over! it's what ai was meant to be. we got you, brother.

market is extremely rich and not only in terms of valuations, in terms of orders. in terms of us to meet all of the things for us to continue the growth in the market like the one we have been seeing. we like large caps over small and the sectors like financials, energy, consumer ples. we focus on the dividends. there will be a lot of volatility next year.

>> that was morgan stanley on "fast money" laying out the sectors for investors. comm services and tech flying high. welcome back to "worldwide exchange." i'm frank holland. we have katrina dudley with her take coming up next. the nasdaq and s&p coming off three-day losing streaks. all three indices in the green. s&p up .1%. the dow up more than 100 points. nasdaq up almost .50%. now the check on the biggest gainers in the nasdaq 100 in the pre-market, of course. micro strategy rebounding followed by tesla and broadcom and t-mobile and palantir. a lot of people calling that profit taking. up almost 1%.

back to the markets. the recent weakness in contrary with the russell finishing with the fifth positive year in the last six. the dow up 13%. the s&p just about 23 or 24% higher. the nasdaq up just about 30%. then we have the russell. this is interesting. the russell up 10% for the year. it's also nearly 10% off its 52-week high getting close to correction territory. interesting situation there. rates and the fed are a big part of the market narrative. the ten-year finishing 70 basis points higher despite the fed cutting rates this year. the volatility in the bond market. spikes earlier this year with the declines and the year coming to an end with upside moves with the yelds. the ten-year at 4.52. easing off the levels in had recent days. last, but not least, gold and

digital gold, bitcoin. both having strong years. bitcoin surging about 30% since election day finishing the year up 120%. gold finishing up over 26%. we will get more into the markets with a year of haves and have-nots by sector performance. the top performing sector is communications and tech and discretionary up 30%. we have the flip side. materials poised to end the year in the red down 2%. healthcare and energy rounding out the bottom with fractional gains when it comes to the areas. you see healthcare up for the year over .50%. for more on which sectors shine in 2025, let's bring in katrina dudley. >> happy new year to you. >> let's start with what's working.

com services and tech. those two sectors, i should say, have a lot of the big name stocks in the mag seven names. do you see the sectors continuing out performance? >> let's look at what worked last year as a recap as we go into the end of the year. you had the technology stocks that really did work this year and then you also have what which call the picks and shovels. that is the you tile utility s. providing the power that is needed to power all of this a.i. technology. i think you have both of them. as we look going forward, one area that is a secular theme and will continue to work in 2025 is a.i. and the technology sector. we're very bullish on that in terms of the ability of that sector to continue to perform. >> are you worried at all about valuations? we talk about the market valued

and s&p trading 22 times. the stocks in those tors, tech and comm, lofty val uation. a lot of people whispering that the market is getting religion with valuation. >> valuation is never a reason to sell something. you need to unpack what it means. we believe it reflects a number of things the market is getting right. the first thing is the earnings growth of the companies and most of the companies in the technology sector have positive earnings which is different from the incident bubble. the second part we believe is a driver of those strong, higher valuations is a fact that network effect is a big part of what is driving returns to the biggest players. so, i think you have a good rationale and one of the ways multiples do get cheaper if companies grow their earnings

and grow those earnings faster than expected. that is the camp that we're coming into that the market is underestimating the ability of the companies to grow. the isk and we need to be cognizant of what can go wrong, is you need the companies to deliver on earnings growth and there is a miss on execution. that is difficult to predict in advance. that is something you need to are weary of given the higher levels of valuation. these companies do need to performance deliver on earnings growth. >> not a reason to sell, but watch when we talk about valuation. i want to go to the other side of the coin. laggards. specifically materials. a group that would benefit from rate cuts and healthcare. i know you have an upside in healthcare. healthcare has lagged so much and based on the demographics of the united states and aging of the population, these stocks have a lot of p upside.

why won't they rally this year if those were important to investors? >> healthcare is a diverse sector in itself. some names performed poorly in 2024 as the healthcare services names which suffered from rising medical costs and costs high are than they anticipated as well as some consumer backlash against high pricing and also a lot of effort within the new administration is going to focus on transparency. when we talk about transparency, you think about what happened in the last couple of decades, particularly in the last ten years. we have gotten transparency in the markets and prices tnd end adjust particularly in the areas where you make profits. transparency is good for the consumer, not necessarily good for the companies out earning. that's the services side. let's talk about the one area where we think is a very interesting area from a secular

perspective. that is intersection of healthcare which is going to be driven by good demographics on the secular basis as well as artificial intelligence. if you have a look at some of the a.i. technology in the research space is making our researchers more productive and hit more targets. we think that drives the productivity of the pharma companies and you may not see those benefits tomorrow, but in longer term higher productivity and better demographics, it's a great place to be. >> katrina dudley, thank you. >> thank you for having me. coming up on "worldwide exchange," a record year for cocoa and orange juice. pippa will have a look at the soft commodities in 2025. we're back after this break. stay with us. old school hard work meets bold new thinking. ( ♪♪ ) partnering to unlock new ideas,

to create new legacies, to transform a company, industry, economy, generation. because grit and vision working in lockstep puts you on the path to your full potential. old school grit. new world ideas. morgan stanley.

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." turning attention to commodities and top performers in that space is not energy or metals, but cocoa and coffee. pippa stevens has more on the record can roll on in 2025. >> reporter: good morning, frank. when you think about commodities, cocoa, coffee and orange juice, aren't the first things that an come to mind. the three are the top performing commodities this year by a long shot. cocoa is pacing for the best year on record. coffee up 70% around an all-time

high and orange juice is tracking for the best year since 2009. cocoa and coffee both require very specific growing conditions and crops have been hit hard. steve waterridge told me unless there is a big improvement in cocoa supply from ghana and ivory coast, we have a big issue, one he said the market is now just realizing. when it comes to coffee, brazil is on the cusp of the fifth consecutive poor crop thanks to climate change. harvest in brazil is impacting orange juice. for the time being, companies have managed the surge through actions like smaller chocolate bars and trading down to robust coffee or increasing juices like pear in the orange juice blends. these issues can't be fixed by supply, but demand response. with the prices elevated across the board, that has not yet

happened, which means we could see higher prices on the horizon. frank. coming up on "worldwide exchange," the one word every investor has to hear today and the stock pick every investor needs to know. the incoming trump administration and potential for the m&a boom and the next guest says the conditions could fuel a favorable deal making boom. stay with us after this break. ugh. stop waiting. start investing. e*trade ® from morgan stanley. business. e*trade ® it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. it's the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. trust. hang out. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. powering more businesses than anyone.

powering possibilities.

♪

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." investors are optimistic with the falling interest rates and lighter touch on regulations from the incoming trump administration will spur a deal making in 2025. global volume is up 12% this year. transactions are lower over the record highs in 2021. investors are encouraged for andrew ferguson over ina khan for the ftc. for more, let's bring in chenelle frazier. she is the former head of

blackrock atlanta. thank you. welcome. happy new year. >> happy new year. >> great to have you here. >> yes. >> i heard a lot of people talk about lina khan leaving the ftc and that is catalyst for deal making. is that the barrier stopping the deal making with the ftc intervening? >> i think it is broader with the deal making in 2025. investors have been looking at two key things. that was monetary dynamics as well as the regulatory environment. in terms of the monetary dynamics we ave seen over the course of 2024, our reduction of interest rates from the fed starting with a big boom in the 50-basis points in september and additional 25 basis points in november. with the indication that we'll see at least two more cuts next year. so, with interest rates falling, that is an indication that many dealmakers are looking at. to your point, the regulatory environment continues to be one that we look at closely.

the trump administration has made indications that they intend to disrupt the status quo. deal makers are looking at that as potentially business friendly. i would say from the broader perspective, as we look at m&a activity as a whole, particularly over the last 40 years, what you will see is a two-term presidency, you see an uptick in m&a activity. >> i want to go into something we talked about with the market guests since the election. the mag seven. a lot of those are a.i. focused stocks and a.i. trade. when we talk about deal making for 2025, are they focused on a.i.? in your opinion, big companies trying to upscale capabilities or smaller companies trying to acquire smaller companies to compete? what dealmaking is that with m&a? >> when it comes to m&a, you are looking for companies to build

scale and future proof their companies. when you look at the investment of a.i. and technology, where you have software service firms, a.i. could potentially be disruptive. where you have other software companies where they have proprietary data sets, they will be able to capitalize on the momentum we'll see in terms of the a.i. and technology investments. >> we were talking about berkshire hathaway with a record $325 billion, astronomical amount of money. other companies have sizeable cash holdings. how do the companies look at the cash holdings going into the new year? a lot less certainty and policies that can shake up the economy and increase inflation and changes with the immigration and work force. how are they viewing that cash pile with uncertainty going forward? >> to your point with uncertainty, but a direction of travel. in terms of how s&p 500 companies look at the cash reserve, it's really about

striking that balance between the ability to reinvest and strategic initiatives as well as things such as r& d and those that are right for deal activity. so, we see there's a focus on stability, but based on conversations i'm continuing to have with ceos, there is an appetite for growth. >> last, but not least, private equity. they got a lot of dry poured. powder. not just the m&a, but acquisitions in 2025? >> you will see dealmaking from the private equity perspective into 2025. you will also see private equity companies looking at the existing portfolio companies and looking to scale those companies itself. i think we need to look at the m&a activity with pe is the appetite now for more ipos.

a lot that have deal activity has been on hold the last two years. >> anel, thank you very much. coming up on "worldwide exchange," the tech stock that may in just be etting started. the mystery chart revealed after this break. stay with us. there are some feelings you can get with any sportsbook. ohhh! the highs! no, no, no. the no, no, noooos - oooooooo! the oh, oh, ohhhhs! now whatcha wanna do with this?

but the feeling that, no matter what, you're taken care of. ohhh, i just earned a hotel suite! hee! you only get that here. at the sportsbook born in vegas, where they know how to treat you right. who you talking to jamie foxx? bonus bets. exclusive offers. real world rewards. betmgm. download and bet today. let's say you're deep in a show or a game or the game. on a train, at home, at work. okay, maybe not at work. point is at xfinity. we're constantly engineering new ways to get the entertainment you love to you faster and easier than ever. that's what i do. is that love island?

welcome back to "worldwide exchange." a check on the few stories we are tracking this morning. the treasury department says the computers were hacked by a chinese actor. in a statement to nbc, the spokesperson says the systems are still being accessed. the fdic has given blackrock a january 10th deadline. the agency is pushing the asset manager to deal to step up scrutiny of the investments. germany's chancellor olof

scholz cautioning voters to not let social media owners influence the upcoming election which is alluding to elon musk. musk called for scholz to resign. the financial times reporting that investors poured $450 billion out of investments funds this year. this year's outflows topped the high of last year at $415 billion. looking to close out 2024 on the high note after sharp losses in the broad based selloff yesterday. futures in the green across the board. the dow would open up 150 points higher. let's bring in jason at odyssey capital ors and a cnbc contributor. jason, happy new year. >> happy new year, frank. >> let's start off with futures. higher this morning. looking like it could be a strong start to wall street after a lot of weakness the last

week. what do you make of it? >> so, i think, frank, obviously, over the last two years, the market is down 1% and obviously, you know, this so-called proverbial santa claus rally is on the sidelines. that is a lot to do with yields. the fed cut 50 basis points in september and 25, 25. the ten-year yield has been 4.5 to 4.63 just a day and a half ago. for me, i think that has been what has been a little bit of an overhang on the markets. you know, going into the new year. the other piece is a little bit of a concern about inflation going forward. i think that's also spiking yields going into the new year. >> a lot of talking about algo and seasonality. i want to get your word of the day. how do you see the holiday week

shaping up as we go forward? >> my word of the day is patience. we're coming off two years of really spectacular growth. s&p is up over 20% this year and it was last year. as we go into the new year, new administration, there is a lot to digest. the market is trying to figure out what will the tariff talk ultimately show up as and are these more negotiation tactics? i think the market is trying to digest that. also, we have a fed that is less engaged in a wait and see mode. i think the market is trying to digest the two pills and figure out where we go next. earnings start in the next two weeks starting with financials. i think that will be a catalyst going forward as we expect double digit earnings growth next year. let's see how all these factors play out. i think that's what we need to

be patient going forward. >> so, i want to see where you are going forward. give us your pick for today and why is that your pick? >> so, my pick is palo alto networks. i believe cybersecurity themes still remain very strong. if i think just about the advance of large language models and a.i. and more sophisticated cyberattacks. i think ctos are busy figuring out what the businesses and enterprises need to protect them going forward. for me, i like palo alto as best in breed in the space. cyber is an ongoing issue for many enterprises. i think that will continue to move going into the new year. >> palo alto is a leader in the cyberspace. i want to show you a chart from the election. in this case, i'm using the cibr

etf. i'm not saying this is the ultimate period of time for this company. it is a gag lard.laggard. is that a concern as palo alto and the other big players with the outage for crowdstrike? >> the new platform strategy is also a new go to market strategy which was different from the process a little over two years ago. i think for me, the market is trying to digest that strategy. it is starting to show improvements. it is obviously more of a long run strategy for the company. i think that is something that the market is obviously trying to figure out this year. obviously, we had strong performance. the stock is up 25%. i think as we move into the years ahead, i think palo alto will continue to be strong here. >> jason snipe, great to have you here. pick is palo alto networks. have a great day. one more quick look at the

futures before we let you go. in the green across the board. the dow is up over 100 points. s&p up .13%. that's going to do it for us. i want to say it has been a great year here on "worldwide exchange." thank you for watching and waking up with us every day. i hope you have a merry and happy and healthy and wonderful 2025. see you back here next year. good morning. stock futures pointing to a slight rebound after yesterday's 1% decline which was some of the closed best levels. bill ackman outlining on president-elect trump's plan for fannie and freddie. those soared after his post on x. we are learning more about a near miss at l.a.x. airport involving the gonzaga men's basketball team. it's tuesday, december 31st,

2024. last day of 2024. take me six months to say 2025. "squawk box" begins right now. ♪ good morning everybody, welcome to squawk box on cnbc, live from times square. andrew is off today. here we go. it is the last day of the year. the last trading day of the year. we are watching u.s. equity futures. at least this morning he will get green arrows early in the session. dow futures are up by 150 points. the s&p is up by 22 and the